Toys that Teach – Ages 24 Months and Under

VTech Click and Count Remote is a nifty device to keep the lil one entertained by giving them lights to look at, buttons to press, and sounds to listen to. However, how will this most likely be used? As a chew toy. That’s what babies typically do with these flashy things. There is a “Limited Edition” of this chew toy,I mean learning device, available. It plays over 45 songs and given that it is shaped like a tv remote, which admittingly irked me when I first saw it, there are 9 channels to “surf” through. Why did this irk me? I originally felt like it was encouraging kids to learn how to use the tv but, toddlers naturally want to play with adult toys, i.e. remote control, cell phone, or wine glass…LeapFrog Scout’s Learning Lights Remote is a similar product and essentially performs the same functions and serves the same purpose but THIS one come with 65 songs! As a mom of former toddlers, I can guarantee that doesn’t really matter since kids tend to fixate on 1 or 2 songs and play those on repeat for HOURS.

What if you have a kid who seems to think your cell phone is the most interesting thing in the world, second only to their feet?VTech Touch and Swipe Baby Phone is similar to the two products above but allows kids to imitate mom and/or dad using their “super cool talk box with people inside” (this is what my daughter used to call it). It’s touch screen. One problem I eventually had with my tiny scientists is, they figured out this phone was a ruse! I tried to trick them by changing it up and purchasing the Fisher-Price Elmo’s World Talking Cell Phone which resembles a flip phone and they loved it! Something about flipping open a phone delighted them. However, this was also when Elmo’s World was super popular. So if you want a play phone that is a bit more realistic, go for the VTech Call and Chat Learning Phone. Kids can add up to 5 family members into their phonebook to “pretend” call. There are also 10 realistic apps which might just trick the smartest of little einsteins into using their own phone and learn numbers and letter.

Not only does this toy teach kids about magnetic forces, it encourages their creativity, a trait that is vital in the STEM field. There is a misconception that science doesn’t require creativity but, that is WRONG. The great thing about these is that toddlers, kids, and adults will want to build crazy contraptions with these.

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